Support bar and wire rope assembly for polished rods



Sept. 4, 1962 G. EYLER ETAL 3,052,003

SUPPORT BAR AND WIRE ROPE ASSEMBLY FOR POLISHED RODS Filed Sept. 15. 1960 United States Patent ()fiice 3,052,003 Patented Sept. '4, 1962 3,052,003 SUPPORT BAR AND WIRE ROPE ASSEMBLY FOR PQLISIED RODS George Eyler, Alton W. Winborne, and Rue S. Hestand, Pampa, Tex., assignors to Cabot Corporation, Boston, Mass, a corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 15, 1960, Ser. No. 56,250 2 Claims. (Cl. 24-123) This invention comprises a new and improved polished rod clamp support bar and wire rope assembly useful particularly for suspending the sucker rod string which activates the plunger of an oil pump, but not limited to such use.

Oil pumping rigs include an oscillating walking beam having at one end a horsehead presenting a circular surface. A single wire rope or cable is attached at its bight to the walking beam or to the horsehead in such a manner that its strands wrap or unwrap upon the curved surface of the horsehead as the beam is oscillated. The ends of the wire rope are zinced in ferrules and these make connection with the clamp supporting bar of the polished rod.

Because the wire rope is made from multiple strands of steel wire twisted into a spiral it is inclined to wind or unwind as it is wrapped and unwrapped from the circular surface of the horsehead. This unwinding and rewinding of the wire rope rotates the polished rod clamp supporting bar and in turn the sucker rod string in the oil well. Such rotation of the sucker rod string caused by unwinding and rewinding of the wire rope on occasion has unscrewed the sucker rod string causing an expensive recovery process before the rod string can be reconnected.

The device of the present invention provides a procedure by which the unwinding and rewinding of the wire rope can be eliminated and all danger avoided of unscrewing the sucker rod string. As herein shown this is accomplished by providing a yoke having a downwardly opening aperture at each end and a central vertical passage for a polished rod. The body of the yoke has also a through passage to each aperture for wire rope and a ferrule is provided in each aperture having a portion projecting below the aperture in convenient position to be engaged by a wrench and an internal part presenting spaced ribs, notches or serrations or an angular portion that permit the ferrule to be clamped in any desired position of angular adjustment. Rotation of the assembly may be eliminated by twisting the ferrule and wire rope with a pipe or other type of wrench and locking the counter twist in place. All this may be accomplished with the wire rope carrying the full well load because each ferrule has an adequate upwardly directed supporting face within the body of the device.

These and other features and advantages of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a view of the device in elevation,

FIG. -2 is a cross-sectional view on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side view.

As herein shown our improved support bar and wire rope assembly comprises a yoke 10 which is laterally extended and provided with a central vertical passage 11 for the polished rod 12. To the polished rod 12 is securely but adjustably fastened a clamp 13. This may be of any commercial shape and serves to suspend the polished rod 12 by resting upon the flat upper surface 10' of the body of the yoke 10. The polished rod is removably retained in its passage 11 by a rectangular lock plate 14 arranged to close the passage by fitting in vertical grooves formed in the yoke 10. The lock plate 14- is herein shown provided with a safety chain 17 which connects it to the body of the yoke 10 but permits removal in case it is desired to disconnect the support bar from the polished rod.

The body of the yoke 10 is provided at each side with a downwardly opening cylindrical aperture 15. These apertures open downwardly through the opposite ends of the yoke 10 and are provided with locking or clamping bolts 16. The body of the yoke 10 is also provided with concentric wire passages 15' leading to the apertures 15.

Each end of the wire rope is zinced into a ferrule herein shown as having an upper cylindrical portion 19, a reduced neck 20 which is herein shown as hexagonal in cross section and also a cylindrical portion 21 which is elongated sufiiciently to extend below the yoke 10 where it may be conveniently reached with a wrench. The ferrules into which the wire rope is zinced may have a multi-sided configuration over a portion of their length or otherwise shaped so that they may be locked in any desired position of rotary adjustment. When the ferrule herein shown is inserted into the clamp support bar the bolt 16 may be passed through a hole in the support bar where it contacts with the multi-sided portion of the ferrule thus locking the ferrule and preventing winding or unwinding of the wire rope. With this locking feature it is possible to remove the bolt, forcibly twist the ferrule and the wire rope with a pipe wrench in the proper direction to remove the undesirable winding or rewinding of the wire rope. When the bolt 16 is reinserted it locks the ferrule in the desired position of rotary adjustment. The configuration of the ferrule is such that the bolt also locks the support bar against vertical movement with respect to the ferrules which might result from operating the pump unit faster than the rod string descends into the oil well. It will be apparent that the desired adjustment of the wire line may be made with the full static load of the sucker rod string on the support bar. This is because the upper cylindrical part 19 of the ferrule presents a wide annular upwardly directed face engaging the shoulder 19 formed at the lower end of the wire passage 15 where it enters the cylindrical aperture 15.

Having disclosed our invention and described in detail an illustrative embodiment thereof we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A support bar and wire rope assembly for a polished rod and clamp, comprising a yoke having a central vertical passage for a polished rod, an upper flat clamp-supporting face and laterally extending portions each perforated for the passage of a wire rope and provided with a downwardly opening aperture concentric with said perforations and with a locking bolt adjacent thereto, each aperture having a fiat downwardly directed annular face whereby the yoke'is supported, and a ferrule adjustably retained in each aperture and zinced to the end of a wire rope passing upwardly through the perforations of the yoke, each ferrule having an upper yoke-supporting face and a lower cylindrical portion directed out from its aperture where it may be engaged by a wrench and forcibly turned when the adjacent locking bolt is removed, each of said ferrules having a reduced neck of polygonal cross section which is engaged by one of the locking bolts to hold the ferrule and wire rope in different angular positions and also an upper cylindrical portion which fits the apertures in the body of the yoke.

2. A device for suspending a polished rod by wire rope from a horsehead having a circular face, comprising a yoke having a laterally elongated body with downwardly opening apertures adjacent to each end with a wire passage leading thereto, a locking bolt traversing each aperture, and a ferrule to which a wire rope is zinced removably retained in each aperture and provided with a portion of angular contour within the aperture cooperating with said locking bolt to hold the .ferrule in difierent 4 selected positions of angular adjustment within its aperture and a portion projecting below the body of the yoke Where it may be engaged with a Wrench and forcibly turned while the wire rope remains under full load.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,258,580 Lassiter Mar. 5, 1918 1,503,932 Wilhelm et a1. Aug. 5, 1924 2,241,747 Shaw May 13, 1941 2,291,649 Roberts Aug. 4, 1942 2,444,842 McConahey et a1. July 6, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS 995,264 France Aug. 14, 1951 

